What do you think, what are the new opportunities which open for Kingston MBA graduates?

In my point of view, Kingston MBA enlarges the perimeter of opportunities for graduates. It permits students to exit from their « normal » activity to discover a larger view of business, company and economy. In consequence, professionally it gives opportunity to be employed in positions they couldn’t pretend before; normally higher positions. I think it is relatively common for most of the good MBA.

Where Kingston MBA in RANEPA is more specific is how it creates opportunity in the Russian or English network area. Kingston MBA doesn’t create a lot of opportunity with UK, but in Russia, more particularly for Russian it permits to student to enlarge their local network and in consequence probably creates new opportunities. This is a key point for Kingston MBA. Due to its positioning (The « best » in Russia) the notoriety of this MBA is quite good and in consequence it attracts as for students, as for speakers more interesting profiles.

The well positioned price of Kingston MBA, more particularly compared with Skolkovo one (who is not the best but have the higher notoriety), permits to have a larger perimeter of students, (not only super rich ones) and a more rich panel of profiles. It gives a true value to the diploma (The doubt about an expensive diploma is permanent: "you have it because you pay for it ») and I think this « serious » perception of Kingston MBA Diploma is very important to give opportunities for students.

In which functional areas of management did you feel yourself on a qualitatively new level, having received the Kingston MBA education?

I was quite a specific student with a large experience in many areas. But anyway … I learn a lot on the following domains: Finance, Personal development, Marketing, Negotiation. It change a lot my perception on these areas and help me to feel much more comfortable with concepts manipulated in these domains. The program is quite full and heavy and it is difficult to not quote other areas where I increase also my knowledge and perception. In fact I progress in most of the domains lectured.

The interesting thing should be to know what is missing. Some domains are missing, in my point of view, where i didn’t progress and regret a bit that fact :

Commercial strategy and tactics, how to sell, how to price services, products, dumping, …

I re-discovered the academic approach of student project. I didn’t remember the academic way to follow for such a work. Qualitatively, it was personally interesting, but I perceive this approach completely disconnected with what I lived and still live in companies and business … Academic and Business approaches are not easy to mix !

What are the most vivid impressions in your memory left by the Kingston MBA program?

I liked very much the international week in UK. It could be 15 days not only one week. Very interesting lectures in a very good studying environnement.

I liked the BSG game. It was presented as a strategy game, but it fall a bit too early and we didn’t have enough knowledge to play well and clever. The game is good but merits more time for preparation by a lectures, for example on different commercial strategy, and more time in debriefing and collective case analysis.

I preferred the first year, very intense in knowledge acquisition, than the second where there is only half a year of real lectures.

The idea to focus on some optional courses for student is good, but it is a pity we cannot access to all books, all presentations and all data, but only for the modules we choose. I think it should be better to have also access to the knowledge of the other modules, even if we don’t have any assignment to do on it.